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I groaned his name and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling my head against his chest while it rumbled with laughter.

“Rome has never been off-limits,” he said. “He’s the exception to every rule Sin and I have. If you want to see where this is going between y’all then go for it.”

He’s the exception to every rule Sin and I have.

That was a mouthful and I didn’t have time to dissect it because I was too busy trying to make sense of the other part of his statement.

“You wouldn’t be mad at me for dating Rome?” What was I even saying? Rome had expressed no interest in dating me.

“Not at all.” He pulled back to smile down at me. “You think I’d be cool with him buying you flowers and having a standing lunch date with you if it made me upset?”

“They weren’t dates,” I pointed out defensively. “I just like talking to him. He barely reacts to anything I say.”

“That’s more than he gives most people. He doesn’t do shit that he doesn’t wanna do. So trust me, him showing up every day and letting you have lunch with him is enough. That nigga is whipped.”

Laughter bubbled in my throat and died just as fast when I snagged on another part of his earlier question. I’d been too distracted to catch it before, but now I couldn’t get past it.

You think I’d be cool with him buying you flowers?

“What did you mean by him buying me flowers? Rome has never bought me flowers.”

The man above me licked his lips and laughed dryly. “Damn. Y’all are both clueless, huh?”

“Can you just tell me instead of calling me names?”

Another laugh claimed the quiet kitchen and I tried to free myself from his hold only for him to pull me in closer.

“That bouquet of jasmine and lavender you loved so much last week.”

“What about it?” My heart raced because a part of me knew what was coming.

“Rome.”

“Oh my god.” He’d watched me gush about those flowers, inhaling them every chance I got and hadn’t said a word.

“Those sunflowers on your nightstand?”

My eyes swelled and I stared at him in disbelief. “No.”

“Yes. That man is obsessed with you, or didn’t today on the lake prove that to you?”

Today had been…different. I didn’t know Rome had it in him to be as patient or as gentle as he was with me on the water, but he hadn’t batted an eye at all my failed attempts. He kept pulling me out the lake, coaching me through my anxiety, and letting me repeat that cycle as many times as I needed to.

He’d tugged at my heart in more ways than one today and now my mind was filtering through all our other interactions.

Obsessedseemed like a strong word, but Rome didtolerateme. And that was a win after the way he’d been when I first got here.

“Anyway,” Lorenzo said, cutting into my thoughts. “I can’t wait for him to stop tiptoeing around his feelings for you and do something about it.”

He pressed me against the counter, leading with his hardening dick and I sucked in a breath.

Biting my lip, I slanted my gaze up at him. I didn’t recognize my voice when I asked my next question. “Does that turn you on? The thought of me being with him?”

He rocked against me again, letting me feel him through the wispy fabric of my shorts. His eyes darkened before he dropped his head to kiss my neck. “That’s what you don’t get. The thought ofeverythingwith you turns me on, Goldyn. I love the thought of you getting whatever the fuck you want, even if it doesn’t come from me.”

The puzzle pieces were slowly clicking into place. That made sense. So much sense I was surprised I hadn’t caught on earlier.

His obsession with watching Sin and I together. His love for watching me use him to get my pleasure before he ever tried to get his. The way his eyes damn near glazed over at the thought of me spending his money. He got pleasure from giving pleasure, no matter what form that took. I’d never had someone so invested in making sure I was satiated in every facet of my life. And every day I fell a little bit more in love with him because of it.